The annual Media Trade Conference brings together members of the working press with motorsports parts producers for face-to-face private meetings.

Priority registration deadline for the 2013 MPMC Media Trade Conference is Monday, December 3. Register before this date to obtain the best schedule possible.

The 2013 MPMC Media Trade Conference is scheduled for Tuesday–Thursday, January 22–24, 2013, at the Embassy Suites Orange County Airport North in Santa Ana, California.

Unlike other trade shows, this event is designed specifically for media members and allows reporters to sit down with manufacturers in private, uninterrupted meetings. Media are advised to register before the early deadline for the best chances of meeting with the companies selected.

Additional details are available at www.sema.org/mpmcmediaregister or contact Della Domingo at dellad@sema.org.

	The annual Media Trade Conference brings together members of the working press with motorsports parts producers for face-to-face private meetings.

Priority registration deadline for the 2013 MPMC Media Trade Conference is Monday, December 3. Register before this date to obtain the best schedule possible.

The 2013 MPMC Media Trade Conference is scheduled for Tuesday–Thursday, January 22–24, 2013, at the Embassy Suites Orange County Airport North in Santa Ana, California.

Unlike other trade shows, this event is designed specifically for media members and allows reporters to sit down with manufacturers in private, uninterrupted meetings. Media are advised to register before the early deadline for the best chances of meeting with the companies selected.

Additional details are available at www.sema.org/mpmcmediaregister or contact Della Domingo at dellad@sema.org.

You’ve got to know who your customers are before you can set your business strategies and maximize your profits. The answers to the following questions are not merely “nice to have;” they're essential:

• Which consumer group should I target, with which parts and which message?
• Are there any new consumer groups I’m missing with my marketing?
• Where and how are consumers buying?
• What motivates consumer purchase behavior?
• Which parts do consumers buy and/or want to buy?

The new 2012 SEMA Consumer Segmentation Report can help your business:

• Identify target consumers. By looking at product purchases, vehicle usage and interests, you can identify the segments that are likely to be your company’s core customers. Understanding the needs of these key consumers can help you better serve your customers.
• Expand customer base: Expansion opportunities may exist with customers you haven’t previously targeted.
• Secondary segments: By recognizing different needs and interests of consumers, you may be able to tailor services to a wider variety of customers.
• Vehicle platform and usage: Your target segments may show that owners of vehicles you don’t currently support have similar needs or interests in your product types.
• Messaging: Consumer needs and benefits, along with interests and hobbies, can point to refined and targeted messaging that will resonate with your customers.
• Marketing: Purchase and research sites, hobbies/interests and vehicle usage can be used to refine your marketing strategy and advertising channels.
• Product development/product mix: Vehicle usage, interests/hobbies and parts purchase patterns can spark ideas for new products, line extensions, feature enhancements and cross-selling opportunities for target consumers.

Get the answers you need now from The 2012 SEMA Consumer Segmentation Report, free for all SEMA members, $950 for non-members. Download your report today at www.sema.org/research.

You’ve got to know who your customers are before you can set your business strategies and maximize your profits. The answers to the following questions are not merely “nice to have;” they're essential:

• Which consumer group should I target, with which parts and which message?
• Are there any new consumer groups I’m missing with my marketing?
• Where and how are consumers buying?
• What motivates consumer purchase behavior?
• Which parts do consumers buy and/or want to buy?

The new 2012 SEMA Consumer Segmentation Report can help your business:

• Identify target consumers. By looking at product purchases, vehicle usage and interests, you can identify the segments that are likely to be your company’s core customers. Understanding the needs of these key consumers can help you better serve your customers.
• Expand customer base: Expansion opportunities may exist with customers you haven’t previously targeted.
• Secondary segments: By recognizing different needs and interests of consumers, you may be able to tailor services to a wider variety of customers.
• Vehicle platform and usage: Your target segments may show that owners of vehicles you don’t currently support have similar needs or interests in your product types.
• Messaging: Consumer needs and benefits, along with interests and hobbies, can point to refined and targeted messaging that will resonate with your customers.
• Marketing: Purchase and research sites, hobbies/interests and vehicle usage can be used to refine your marketing strategy and advertising channels.
• Product development/product mix: Vehicle usage, interests/hobbies and parts purchase patterns can spark ideas for new products, line extensions, feature enhancements and cross-selling opportunities for target consumers.

Get the answers you need now from The 2012 SEMA Consumer Segmentation Report, free for all SEMA members, $950 for non-members. Download your report today at www.sema.org/research.

	The John Force 15th annual Holiday Car Show will open to the public Sunday, December 2, 10:00 a.m.—4:00 p.m.

John Force Holiday Car Show This Weekend
This Sunday at the John Force Racing (JFR) headquarters and museum in Yorba Linda, California, 15-time NHRA Funny Car world champion John Force hold his 15th annual Holiday Car Show. The event will once again benefit California Highway Patrol’s “CHiP’s For Kids” toy drive. The event will be open to the public Sunday, December 2, 10:00 a.m.—4:00 p.m. In the past 14 years, JFR has collected nearly 90,000 toys for underprivileged children in the Southern California area. Spectator admission is a new $10 unwrapped toy. The car show is open to all sports cars, street rods, classics, trucks, musclecars and exotics. There will be plenty of vendors and this family friendly event will have something for everyone. The ‘featured vehicle’ this year are Woodies. Fans will be able to tour the John Force Race Shop and Museum. A vehicle-entry registration form is available at www.johnforce.com/holidaycarshow2012/index.cfm.

Source Interlink Hires Todd Lassa, Michael Jordan for AUTOMOBILE Magazine
Source Interlink Media hired Todd Lassa as executive editor and Michael Jordan as senior editor for its Automobile Magazine. Lassa comes to Automobile after 12 years as Detroit editor for Motor Trend, where he covered future cars and trucks, automotive trends and analysis for the magazine’s "Trend" section, as well as writing op-eds as the Motor City Blogman at www.motortrend.com.

Lassa’s journalism background includes not only a stint as editor for a weekly auto magazine, but also a Capitol Hill-accredited reporter, a business reporter who covered the America’s Cup, and a local news reporter who covered actor Cary Grant’s death in Davenport, Iowa. In addition, he is a minority-share NFL team owner—one of the individuals who purchased a share in the Green Bay Packers. As executive editor, Lassa will report directly to Joe DeMatio, deputy editor.

Jordan returns to Automobile after a six-year absence. He began his career working with Car and Driver in 1976, then ran a motorcycle magazine called CycleGuide for two years before going back to Car and Driver from 1981–1986. He then became Automobile’s West Coast editor until joining Edmunds.com as executive editor in 2007. Lassa and Jordan assumed their new roles November 26. Lassa will be based at the magazine’s editorial offices in Ann Arbor, Michigan, while Jordan will be based in Los Angeles.

MAHLE Enters Agreement to Acquire Assets of RTI Technologies Inc.
MAHLE has entered into a definitive agreement with Robert Bosch GmbH to acquire all assets and the related business of RTI Technologies Inc., developers and distributors of automotive maintenance equipment, including air conditioning service, fluid exchange and nitrogen tire-inflation systems. RTI Technologies, based in York, Pennsylvania, had sales of USD 14.7 million in 2011 and has 60 employees. The transaction is subject to certain customary closing conditions and is expected to close on January 1, 2013. According to MAHLE, RTI’s strengths include the organization’s ability to provide leading solutions for all available refrigerants used in mobile air conditioning systems. RTI Technologies currently supplies shop equipment to major OEMs around the world. It also sells equipment under the RTI brand in the independent aftermarket. RTI Technologies as a future part of MAHLE will focus on continuous sales growth and customer service in North America as well as potential business expansion in other regions.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued survey results on the effectiveness of tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS). The technical report analyzes a sampling of data collected from tires mounted on model-year ’04–’07 vehicles. The survey found that 23.1% of the vehicles without a TPMS had at least one severely underinflated tire (25% or more below the recommended cold tire pressure). Only 11.8% of TPMS-equipped vehicles had an underinflated tire. The percentage dropped even further, to just 5.7%, for a sampling of model-year ’08–’11 vehicles. The NHTSA also estimates that its TPMS rule saved $511 million in 2011 in reduced fuel consumption as a result of more properly inflated tires. A copy of the report is now available.

For more information, please contact Stuart Gosswein at stuartg@sema.org.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued survey results on the effectiveness of tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS). The technical report analyzes a sampling of data collected from tires mounted on model-year ’04–’07 vehicles. The survey found that 23.1% of the vehicles without a TPMS had at least one severely underinflated tire (25% or more below the recommended cold tire pressure). Only 11.8% of TPMS-equipped vehicles had an underinflated tire. The percentage dropped even further, to just 5.7%, for a sampling of model-year ’08–’11 vehicles. The NHTSA also estimates that its TPMS rule saved $511 million in 2011 in reduced fuel consumption as a result of more properly inflated tires. A copy of the report is now available.

For more information, please contact Stuart Gosswein at stuartg@sema.org.

SEMA has joined with the Off Road Business Association (ORBA), Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC), American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) and a number of other motorized recreation groups to oppose designating 1.4 million acres of land in Utah as a National Monument. The area surrounds Canyonlands National Park and is referred to as “Greater Canyonlands.” There is no widespread local or Congressional support for the designation, which could threaten to close off-highway vehicle (OHV) use and shared access.

The President has the authority to declare a National Monument through the Antiquities Act of 1906. This authority has only been used 103 times in nearly 100 years and is typically limited to a small area of land. A number of conservation groups are now pressuring President Obama to designate the 1.4 million acres in Utah as a National Monument and close 1,050 miles of OHV routes and monitor 1,450 miles for possible future closure. SEMA and its Coalition partners urged the President to abandon the idea in a November 15 letter.  

The letter cites the positive economic impact of motorized recreation activities, which accounts for more than $257 billion in annual economic impact nationwide. The Coalition also called for a more collaborative approach to land-use decisions, including input from local citizens, elected leaders and other stakeholders.

SEMA and the Coalition also contend that a Monument Designation would undermine current protections for the land. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) manages the land surrounding Canyonlands National Park. It has recently completed a new Resource Management Plan that restricts motorized and non-motorized activities to routes that have been subject to environmental analysis and public involvement, making a Monument Designation unnecessary and threatening to the existing process. 

For more information, please contact Stuart Gosswein at stuartg@sema.org.

SEMA has joined with the Off Road Business Association (ORBA), Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC), American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) and a number of other motorized recreation groups to oppose designating 1.4 million acres of land in Utah as a National Monument. The area surrounds Canyonlands National Park and is referred to as “Greater Canyonlands.” There is no widespread local or Congressional support for the designation, which could threaten to close off-highway vehicle (OHV) use and shared access.

The President has the authority to declare a National Monument through the Antiquities Act of 1906. This authority has only been used 103 times in nearly 100 years and is typically limited to a small area of land. A number of conservation groups are now pressuring President Obama to designate the 1.4 million acres in Utah as a National Monument and close 1,050 miles of OHV routes and monitor 1,450 miles for possible future closure. SEMA and its Coalition partners urged the President to abandon the idea in a November 15 letter.  

The letter cites the positive economic impact of motorized recreation activities, which accounts for more than $257 billion in annual economic impact nationwide. The Coalition also called for a more collaborative approach to land-use decisions, including input from local citizens, elected leaders and other stakeholders.

SEMA and the Coalition also contend that a Monument Designation would undermine current protections for the land. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) manages the land surrounding Canyonlands National Park. It has recently completed a new Resource Management Plan that restricts motorized and non-motorized activities to routes that have been subject to environmental analysis and public involvement, making a Monument Designation unnecessary and threatening to the existing process. 

For more information, please contact Stuart Gosswein at stuartg@sema.org.

At midnight on December 31, a major provision of the “Budget Control Act” (BCA) agreed to last summer by Congress and the President is set to go into effect. The BCA called for Congress to pass legislation lowering the U.S. deficit by $1.2 trillion over the next 10 years. Failing to do so would trigger automatic government spending cuts and tax increases known as the “fiscal cliff.” Among them are the end of temporary payroll tax cuts, which will result in a 2% tax increase for most workers. There will also be an end to several tax breaks for businesses and changes in the alternative minimum tax that could result in more people having to pay, and higher tax payments for those who do. Several of these existing tax breaks came from the Bush tax cuts of 2001, which were extended under President Obama until the end of 2012. Additionally, spending cuts will take place in more than 1,000 government programs, including cuts in the defense budget as well as social programs, such as Medicare.   

Absent an agreement, to follow is a summary of the major changes slated to take place January 1, 2013:

• The end of 2011 and 2012 temporary payroll tax cuts, resulting in a 2% tax increase for workers.
• Tax rates in the top four brackets will be increased: 39.6% (from 35%), 36% (from 33%), 31% (from 28%) and 28% (from 25%).
• Capital gains will be taxed at a 20% rate (increased from 15% currently).
• Dividends received by individuals will be treated as ordinary income and taxed at the top income tax rate, rather than at the long-term capital gains rate (15%).
• Estate tax reverts to pre-2001 levels. The exemption level will be decreased from $5 million to around $1 million and the top tax rate will increase from 35% to 55%.
• Additionally, Congress never renewed a number of tax credits that expired at the end of 2011 (for example: research and development tax credit, deduction of state and local sales taxes, alternative minimum tax adjustment) and others expire at the end of 2012 (for example: 50% bonus depreciation, Section 179 deduction returns to $25,000 from its current level of $139,000).  

Most experts agree that the significance of the cuts and tax increases would produce another recession, if not a depression. The President and Congressional leaders are negotiating to avoid the cliff. Many analysts believe that if a compromise is reached, it won’t likely occur until late December. If an agreement is not reached, a compromise could still be reached early in 2013 and made retroactive to January 1. However, at that point, the financial markets may have already downgraded the U.S. credit rating and raised interest rates. 

SEMA will continue to closely monitor and report on the negotiations. For more information, please contact Dan Sadowski at dans@sema.org.